Page - 175 - in Cyborg Mind - What Brain–Computer and Mind–Cyberspace Interfaces Mean for Cyberneuroethics

Cyberneuroethics • 175 not to become a dystopia of programmed, meaningless and robotic happi- ness. Being able to suffer with others is maybe what makes human beings most interesting! As already noted, these are not necessarily new philosophical questions. The idea of having a material, physical body and disembodied thoughts is a con- cept much loved by dualist philosophers such as the seventeenth-century philosopher Descartes, but criticised by many since.342 Finding Meaningful Virtual Existence A meaningful existence in a posthuman cyberspace future may be considered as natural and even necessary if it is accepted that evolutionary selection will favour artificial intelligence over human intelligence and if the spread of computational technology is declared inexorable. As the religious commenta- tor Hava Tirosh-Samuelson emphasised, the ‘saviour’ of this new ‘religious order’ is clearly technology. However, this is rooted in the belief that human beings will benefit because computers will solve ‘human problems, and when human beings upload their minds into machines, they will not only live longer, happier lives, but they will also attain immortality, the very end that traditional religions promised their adherents’.343 In theory, virtual worlds and spaces will then create the context within which to outwork this kind of posthuman life, ultimately evolving into the first real afterlife. In a way, aside from the simple fact that they are fun, video games already espouse the transcendent benefits that posthuman- ism promotes. Whilst, for many, these virtual spaces may just be games, for some, they are of crucial importance and value, helping to provide a template for the future. As Geraci indicates: ‘Every player who acclimates to operating within virtual worlds, controlling a character that is simultane- ously both identical to and distinct from herself, moves a tiny step toward a future in which mind uploading looks both more reasonable and more plausible.’344 In a survey of players of the virtual reality EverQuest game, it was reported in 2007 that 22 per cent would choose to live in its fictional world if this was possible,345 with the American sociologist William Bainbridge noting: ‘I would consider a continued existence for my main [World of Warcraft] character, behaving as I would behave if I still lived, as a realistic form of immortality.’346 Among posthumanists, it was reported in 2001 that 51 per cent would find it appealing to upload their minds into World of Warcraft or a compa- rable game.347 This is not to say that all who currently engage in video games and virtual reality simulations are wholeheartedly pursuing the posthumanist This open access edition has been made available under a CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 license thanks to the support of Knowledge Unlatched. Not for resale.